:00:07. > :00:10.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith. And I'm Polly Evans.
:00:10. > :00:14.Tonight's top stories. A former police officer is arrested on
:00:14. > :00:17.suspicion of stabbing his wife to death at her Kent hair salon. We're
:00:17. > :00:19.live on Ashford high street with the latest.
:00:20. > :00:29.The torment of internet trolls - the family left devastated by
:00:29. > :00:37.abusive messages on a tribute site to their dead daughter.
:00:37. > :00:40.This is the last thing that we need as a family. Evil people like this
:00:40. > :00:43.St such wicked things. Also in tonight's programme. A
:00:43. > :00:45.visit from the Commander-in-Chief of the Gurkha's - Prince Charles
:00:45. > :00:48.reviews the troops at Folkestone barracks. After the wettest April
:00:48. > :00:56.on record, still our reservoirs aren't full. How do other countries
:00:56. > :01:00.cope with harvesting rainfall? I would like to hear the sound of a
:01:00. > :01:04.goat doing an impression of Frank Sinatra.
:01:04. > :01:14.And it's all out of his head - we chat with Paul Merton as he returns
:01:14. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:17.to live stand-up for the first time in a decade.
:01:18. > :01:22.Good evening. A former Kent police officer has been arrested on
:01:22. > :01:24.suspicion his estranged wife to death at her hair salon in Ashford.
:01:24. > :01:28.Ivan Esack is tonight being questioned on suspicion of the
:01:28. > :01:35.murder of Natalie Esack in Ashford High Street. Friends tonight said
:01:35. > :01:40.she was a lovely person, Simon Jones reports.
:01:40. > :01:44.It was shortly after the salon opened for business that Natalie T
:01:44. > :01:50.Stack was stabbed to death. People nearby heard a commotion but could
:01:50. > :01:58.only look on in horror. I heard some screaming coming from what I
:01:58. > :02:04.then realised was the hairdresser's. But the next thing was someone must
:02:04. > :02:07.have phoned the police because everyone Ben arrived. Natalie Esack
:02:07. > :02:13.was in her 30s and well known in Ashford High Street by other
:02:13. > :02:20.business owners. She always had a smile on her face and she was
:02:20. > :02:24.always pleasant and polite. She just got on with her business.
:02:24. > :02:33.shocking is it to hear what has happened? Very shocking, you do not
:02:33. > :02:37.expect things like that. And not someone being stabbed to death, it
:02:37. > :02:43.is a shock. The cordon is in place around the house where Ivan Esack,
:02:43. > :02:48.her husband, lives, a short drive from the town centre. He was a
:02:48. > :02:53.former Kent police officer. It is believed he and his wife were no
:02:53. > :02:59.longer living together. Neighbours have spoken of their shock. She was
:02:59. > :03:05.quite quiet, she -- he was more the chatty one. To hear that she has
:03:05. > :03:09.been killed, what you make of it? It is just awful. The hunt for
:03:09. > :03:13.clues around the salon is continuing. Sniffer dogs have been
:03:13. > :03:16.brought in and the police have been on guard all day. People here are
:03:17. > :03:20.shocked that this could happen at the start of the day in a bustling
:03:20. > :03:26.town centre. That was Simon Jones reporting, and
:03:26. > :03:32.he joins us now from Ashford High Street. What we know about Ivan
:03:32. > :03:35.Esack? He's 38 years old, I understand he left Kent police a
:03:35. > :03:39.couple of years ago and set up a website where he now describes
:03:40. > :03:43.himself as a football agent. The website also refers to the fact
:03:43. > :03:50.that she used to be a police officer. He is registered to the
:03:50. > :03:54.same address as the hairdressing salon. People have told me that
:03:54. > :03:57.Natalie arrived for work smiling as usual, no one had any idea of the
:03:57. > :04:00.terrible events that were due to happen.
:04:00. > :04:03.The mother of a teenage girl from Maidstone who died in February says
:04:03. > :04:06.her memory has been attacked by a so-called internet troll. Amanda
:04:06. > :04:09.Slann died from leukaemia. Days after her funeral, abusive photos
:04:09. > :04:11.and messages were posted on her Facebook memorial site. It comes
:04:11. > :04:14.after another Kent family who's daughter's memorial page was
:04:14. > :04:23.targeted say the law must be changed to help prosecute people
:04:23. > :04:28.who carry out the online attacks. Fiona Irving reports.
:04:28. > :04:33.Amanda Slann died of leukaemia just two months ago. Days after her
:04:33. > :04:38.funeral, a Facebook tribute site in her memory was attacked. Someone
:04:38. > :04:43.started posting abusive comments on the site. One of the comments he
:04:43. > :04:48.put was that Amanda was a disease, her cancer was a disease and she
:04:48. > :04:54.was spreading it. And he was glad that she was dead for that. They
:04:54. > :04:57.also started posting offensive images. To target dead children and
:04:57. > :05:02.their parents and family and friends, some people are really
:05:02. > :05:07.sick. Absolutely sick. I did not think there were people that evil
:05:07. > :05:14.around. It is sadly a story that Trevor and Beverly Porter know too
:05:14. > :05:17.well. Their daughter Charlotte died aged 17 in 2010. She died from
:05:17. > :05:22.deep-vein thrombosis. Just a year after her death a tribute site set
:05:22. > :05:31.up in her memory was also attacked. Someone posted messages pretending
:05:31. > :05:35.to be her. He has destroyed memories. Last September in a
:05:35. > :05:39.ground-breaking case, Sean Duffy was convicted of posting malicious
:05:39. > :05:44.Communications to Facebook tribute sites. He was not convicted of
:05:44. > :05:49.abusing Charlotte's side but later confessed to it. He was jailed for
:05:49. > :05:54.18 weeks. Then maximum sentence that this offence carries his six
:05:54. > :05:58.months ended you plead guilty, 17 weeks. We have a life sentence to
:05:58. > :06:03.serve every day. But Charlotte and Amanda's parents want to see the
:06:03. > :06:09.law changed to make it easier to find and prosecute those who hide
:06:09. > :06:13.behind the internet to abuse people's memories.
:06:13. > :06:16.We're joined from Brighton by Scott Freeman who set up the Cybersmile
:06:16. > :06:19.Foundation, a charity which offers support to people affected by
:06:19. > :06:22.online hate campaigns, after his daughter was bullied online. Mr
:06:22. > :06:32.Freeman, what sort of impact did this bullying have on your
:06:32. > :06:34.
:06:34. > :06:38.daughter? My daughter, it happened over a period of eight months, and
:06:38. > :06:43.at its worst she was getting 16 negative bits of feedback on her
:06:43. > :06:48.Facebook. She had strangers who got involved saying, why do you not
:06:48. > :06:53.kill yourself, or they would do it for her. It affected everything,
:06:53. > :06:58.her attendance at school, her eating, her socialising. Just a
:06:58. > :07:04.devastating effect. It seems to be a growing problem, what can be done
:07:04. > :07:07.to catch the internet troll? police have ways to track internet
:07:07. > :07:12.addresses but they only get involved if there are serious
:07:12. > :07:18.threats. Until there is a real deterrent, through the legal system,
:07:18. > :07:21.people will continue to do it. government says legislation does
:07:21. > :07:25.exist under the Communications Act and they have bought hundreds of
:07:25. > :07:31.prosecutions. Do you think that that is not enough? It is not
:07:31. > :07:37.enough. It is common now and affects one in three children. It
:07:37. > :07:45.is just not enough, no. There needs to be a deterrent otherwise it will
:07:45. > :07:51.keep happening. Coming up, of why the Olympics
:07:51. > :08:01.could spell disaster for summer for smaller airfields. - just some of
:08:01. > :08:02.
:08:02. > :08:10.fire. A Hastings man has told the court
:08:10. > :08:17.that he interrogated a man to get him to confess to being a
:08:17. > :08:19.paedophile. Christopher Hunnisett killed 57-year-old Peter Bick in
:08:19. > :08:26.Bexhill in January 2011. Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Colin
:08:26. > :08:32.Campbell reports. Whilst both men were in the bedroom
:08:32. > :08:39.Christopher Hunnisett said he tied a lace around the neck of Peter
:08:39. > :08:45.Bick and then try to interrogate him. He said, he passed out a bit
:08:45. > :08:49.and I had a camera by the side of the bed. He said he was trying to
:08:49. > :08:53.get Peter Bick to confess to being a paedophile, but things went wrong.
:08:53. > :08:57.He acknowledged the Peter Bick managed to get one hand free and
:08:57. > :09:03.grabbed him around the throat. He said, I hit him to get his hand off
:09:03. > :09:08.me but it got tighter and I hit him more times. Christopher Honey said
:09:08. > :09:15.told the court he used military truck -- strategies to try to track
:09:15. > :09:19.down paedophiles. The prosecution say it is no evidence that Peter
:09:19. > :09:23.Bick was a paedophile. Christopher Hunnisett denies murder but excepts
:09:23. > :09:27.causing Peter Bick serious bodily harm, acting with diminished
:09:27. > :09:30.responsibility. A 21-year-old man has been arrested
:09:30. > :09:33.on suspicion of murder after a fatal stabbing at a Brighton flat.
:09:33. > :09:38.Police were called to the flat in Norfolk Square yesterday evening
:09:38. > :09:41.after a report that the 40-year-old male occupant had been stabbed.
:09:41. > :09:45.Lord Alan Sugar has tweeted his support in the search for a missing
:09:45. > :09:51.Brighton pensioner. Nellie Herriot, who is 96 and has Alzheimers, was
:09:51. > :09:56.last seen on a bus in the city last Tuesday. Police have released CCTV
:09:56. > :09:59.images of her taken the weekend before she disappeared.
:09:59. > :10:03.A Kent flying school says it could be badly hit by flying restrictions
:10:03. > :10:06.imposed for the Olympics. The restrictions will be in place from
:10:06. > :10:09.the 14th of July to the 12th of September, when a "prohibited zone"
:10:09. > :10:13.will stop all flights over London, except to or from Heathrow, RAF
:10:13. > :10:21.Northolt and London City Airport. Aircraft may apply to fly within a
:10:21. > :10:29.wider restricted zone, if they adhere to strict guidelines.
:10:29. > :10:34.Chrissie Reidy reports. Around 150 airfields will be
:10:34. > :10:37.restricted during the Olympic Games. Medway Microlights say that with no
:10:37. > :10:42.guarantee they will be able to fly at their busiest time of the year,
:10:42. > :10:47.they could go out of business. have made it so that it is a rum
:10:47. > :10:51.deal, we cannot operate correctly. I have said to them, of what would
:10:51. > :10:55.they do if they lost their pay packet for five weeks? To keep the
:10:55. > :10:59.London skies free of any suspicious aircraft, the Ministry of Defence
:10:59. > :11:04.has implemented strict airspace restrictions around Olympic venues.
:11:04. > :11:09.Anyone wanting to fly in a restricted zone needs a transponder
:11:09. > :11:13.which gives all aircraft and identification code. As a role
:11:13. > :11:21.microlight and gliders do not have them. Anyone who wants to die it
:11:21. > :11:25.also has to submit a flight plan. - - wants to fly. The available slots,
:11:25. > :11:30.only so many people can fly at one time, so those slots will not be
:11:30. > :11:37.given to us. We have asked for a compromise which would offer
:11:37. > :11:39.give us a compromise because they know there is not the airspace.
:11:39. > :11:48.This training exercise using RAF typhoons should give you some idea
:11:48. > :11:50.of the measures being taken to through. The government says it is
:11:50. > :11:57.taking no risks. We have to deliver a safe and has secured games and
:11:57. > :12:01.the threat from the air is very stadium itself there will be
:12:01. > :12:05.winners and losers amongst the business community. But for the
:12:05. > :12:09.authorities in charge of security, the bottom line is to deliver a
:12:09. > :12:11.safe Olympics. They're about to be deployed to
:12:11. > :12:16.Afghanistan for the third time and today soldiers from the Royal
:12:16. > :12:18.Gurkha Rifles met their Colonel in Chief, the Prince of Wales.
:12:18. > :12:22.Prince Charles visited the Sir John Moore Barracks in Folkestone, as
:12:22. > :12:25.part of a tour of Kent. The Prince is also President of The National
:12:25. > :12:33.Trust, and his trip to the county also took in Knole House near
:12:33. > :12:37.Sevenoaks. Peter Whittlesea reports. A Ghurka welcome fit for offence.
:12:37. > :12:41.As Colonel in-Chief of regiment, the Prince of Wales's visit to
:12:41. > :12:45.Folkestone was seen as a morale- booster for those soldiers
:12:45. > :12:50.preparing for Afghanistan. As the brigade of Gurkhas is set to be
:12:51. > :12:53.scaled back in the budget cuts, the royal seal of approval was seen by
:12:53. > :12:58.many to highlight the important role that the Gurkhas played in a
:12:58. > :13:03.British Army. He wanted to know where the men
:13:03. > :13:08.were going in Afghanistan and when they were going. I had to explain
:13:08. > :13:13.that there will be quite split up. The plan appears to be changing, it
:13:13. > :13:17.seems that they may be scattered amongst other battalions. A 20
:13:17. > :13:22.minute helicopter ride linked to a subject close to the Prince's heart.
:13:22. > :13:27.Defence of the realm and defending national heritage. Emergency
:13:27. > :13:30.repairs about to start at Noel house in Sevenoaks. As President of
:13:30. > :13:35.the National Trust, the Prince is passionate about preserving the
:13:35. > :13:37.past from the elements as well as woodworm. I think he was quite
:13:37. > :13:44.surprised at the extent of the damage and he is quite
:13:44. > :13:47.knowledgeable about these things. I think she was interested to see the
:13:47. > :13:53.Beatles and did not expect to see what they look like, he found it
:13:53. > :13:58.interesting. We want to raise its profile and put it in its rightful
:13:58. > :14:02.place as one of the palaces of England. So the -- to have the
:14:02. > :14:06.Prince coming has been fabulous. The Prince winners conservation
:14:06. > :14:15.techniques that will safeguard the building was my future. --
:14:15. > :14:18.Our top story tonight. A former police officer is under arrest on
:14:18. > :14:21.suspicion of the murder of his hairdresser wife, who was stabbed
:14:21. > :14:24.to death at her Ashford shop. Also in tonight's programme.
:14:24. > :14:29.Warming up for the 46th Brighton Festival - we'll fill you in on
:14:29. > :14:39.this year's highlights. And he's the king of improv - but
:14:39. > :14:40.
:14:40. > :14:42.we'll be chatting to Paul Merton Despite the South East being
:14:42. > :14:47.declared officially in drought, we've seen one of the wettest
:14:47. > :14:52.Aprils on record. Up to 40 millimetres fell across the region
:14:52. > :14:55.over the weekend. And around 120 millimetres has fallen during April.
:14:55. > :15:02.Over the weekend, South East Water says capacity at reservoirs did
:15:02. > :15:05.rise. For example, Ardingly's stocks rose by 3% to 67%. But how
:15:05. > :15:15.do other countries cope with managing their water stocks during
:15:15. > :15:16.
:15:16. > :15:21.shortages? Tonight we have three reports from around the world.
:15:21. > :15:27.Here in sunny Australia and they have had problems with traits and
:15:27. > :15:32.water supplies for centuries. They get to drought every 14 years or so.
:15:32. > :15:38.The biggest problem is that 70% of the rain falls and the North and
:15:38. > :15:42.some tips end of the population live in the south. They have
:15:42. > :15:46.movement of water across the country. They have a huge system of
:15:46. > :15:50.aqueducts and tunnels which moos water around South Eastern
:15:50. > :15:55.Australia. It has been successful but the problem is it is getting
:15:55. > :15:59.old and cannot keep up with population growth. So they have
:15:59. > :16:05.gone in for desalination plants, making drinking water from sea
:16:05. > :16:09.water. But they are expensive to build an expensive to run.
:16:09. > :16:16.Ironically, all of this comes on the very day that the Australian
:16:16. > :16:20.government has officially declared an end to correct in Australia.
:16:20. > :16:24.They have done that in part because of rain for that has been incest
:16:24. > :16:31.and in the past two years because of the West and a system in the
:16:31. > :16:35.western Pacific. Think Spain, and perhaps you think
:16:35. > :16:42.of the hot, dry South where thousands of British people go on
:16:42. > :16:46.holiday. But parts of north-west Spain are as wet as England. The
:16:46. > :16:51.key to getting water to everyone is an elaborate network of dams where
:16:51. > :16:55.water is diverted from the wetter regions to the drier parts of the
:16:55. > :17:00.country. If you have a long coastline then you can build a
:17:00. > :17:05.large number of desalination plants, another reason why this arid
:17:05. > :17:11.country has not had a hosepipe ban in several years, up because a lot
:17:11. > :17:16.of water it is treated and then re- used on places like golf courses.
:17:16. > :17:21.Here in India, and rainwater harvesting is becoming popular and
:17:21. > :17:25.widespread. Because of its large population and pressure on natural
:17:25. > :17:29.resources, levels of ground water are dipping rapidly. This is
:17:29. > :17:34.despite the fact that during the monsoon months many parts of the
:17:34. > :17:38.country expects heavy rainfall, but most of the water goes to waste.
:17:38. > :17:42.Now it is mandatory in many cities and states to incorporate rainwater
:17:42. > :17:48.harvesting techniques when commissioning new building projects.
:17:48. > :17:55.For instance here in Delhi, and number of buildings as well as
:17:55. > :17:58.private residences have rainwater harvesting techniques. What they do
:17:58. > :18:02.essentially is used a network of pipes to divert water into a large
:18:02. > :18:07.storage tanks and the ground and then the water is treated and
:18:07. > :18:15.released into the ground. And here, despite the wettest April
:18:15. > :18:19.on record there are no plans to end the current restrictions.
:18:19. > :18:22.He's been a feature of Friday night telly for decades and it's fair to
:18:22. > :18:25.say Paul Merton is one of the nation's favourite comedians. But
:18:25. > :18:29.while he started his illustrious career in stand-up and
:18:29. > :18:32.improvisation, he hasn't actually done a stand-up tour for 12 years.
:18:32. > :18:36.But now he's taking a new stage show around the UK, promising to
:18:36. > :18:41.expose the "bizarre workings of his brain". Tonight it's in Tunbridge
:18:41. > :18:50.Wells. In a moment we'll be hearing from Paul, first here's a reminder
:18:50. > :18:56.of his work. As I stared into the mouth of the ravenous beast I could
:18:56. > :18:59.see in the background and Angel by genetically pointing north. I'd
:18:59. > :19:06.like to have my own theme tune as well. One thing we should all have
:19:06. > :19:10.one. What would your speed? I would like the sound of broken glass
:19:10. > :19:17.followed by a high-pitched female voice saying, or leave it, Dave,
:19:17. > :19:22.he's not worth it. You will bestow, you'll be in the red and white
:19:22. > :19:28.stripes. I'll be Birmingham. revenge a recreate they gave them
:19:28. > :19:38.that if we have to take the stake team off altogether. We have
:19:38. > :19:39.
:19:39. > :19:43.bullied them in such ways so that you can't move them anyhow. Well,
:19:43. > :19:50.we caught up with Paul Merton a bit earlier, ahead of tonight's show
:19:50. > :19:55.and asked him why he'd taken such a long break from stand-up.
:19:55. > :20:00.A lot of time when I talk I do improvisational shows which are
:20:00. > :20:04.quite easy in the sense that you don't have rehearsals or props or
:20:04. > :20:08.costumes or technical rehearsals. That is quite fun but about two or
:20:08. > :20:12.three years ago I made a couple of documentaries about Hollywood and I
:20:12. > :20:17.love the whole idea of working with material and getting the chance to
:20:17. > :20:23.hone staff. That is what I wanted to do in a live theatre environment
:20:23. > :20:27.and revisits staff night after night to try and improve it. At the
:20:27. > :20:31.course you do not have a director show a chink in your ear. Though
:20:31. > :20:35.sometimes that might tell because it would save me making the same
:20:35. > :20:39.mistake night after night! You're working with your wife, is that
:20:39. > :20:44.wise? Yes, I think it is much better than not working with each
:20:44. > :20:48.other because on a 50 date tour you're travelling all round the
:20:48. > :20:54.country. Instead of getting home at 2am to somebody you have not seen
:20:54. > :20:59.all day, we are together. And you write stuff together. The us, we do.
:20:59. > :21:03.It is a happy working partnership as well as a sort of marriage.
:21:04. > :21:13.show is called Jonathan Pope. Is it all about the workings of your
:21:13. > :21:18.brain? -- it is called out of my head. It is about the things that
:21:18. > :21:23.occur to us, what makes us laugh, how important a sense of humour is
:21:23. > :21:29.to general mental health. There are songs in it, there are sketches, a
:21:29. > :21:32.bit of magical effects, a mixture of things. Are you going to
:21:32. > :21:40.improvise at all in it, would you change it as you go along? Things
:21:40. > :21:44.do change. Over 50 date tour stitches change, new lines cumin,
:21:44. > :21:50.occasionally if somebody forget the line we just ad lib our way out of
:21:50. > :21:54.it. There is always the chance to do something new every night.
:21:54. > :22:02.would love to talk to prolong the but we have run out of time. Good
:22:02. > :22:05.luck with the show this evening. Football now, and it was a
:22:05. > :22:09.disappointing weekend for the South East's top clubs. Brighton,
:22:09. > :22:11.Charlton and Gillingham all drew and Crawley Town's hopes of back-
:22:11. > :22:14.to-back promotions received an unexpected blow with a 3-0 home
:22:14. > :22:18.defeat to Hereford. Despite that, the Reds will go into next
:22:18. > :22:24.Saturday's final game of the season in third place. The 46th Brighton
:22:24. > :22:27.Festival gets under way in a few days. The annual event is worth
:22:27. > :22:36.millions of pounds to the local economy as thousands of people
:22:36. > :22:40.visit the city. Ian Palmer is there for us. Howard found stock
:22:40. > :22:47.preparations? Very advanced, but there is always
:22:47. > :22:51.much more to do. That helped with the bars around the city. This is
:22:51. > :22:56.the 46th festival for Brighton. For many it marks the beginning of the
:22:56. > :23:01.entertainment season. It is that time again. Brighton festival is
:23:01. > :23:05.much heralded, much supported and much loved. One of the questions we
:23:05. > :23:09.are asking is the idea that if you could write a message and put it in
:23:09. > :23:16.a bottle and sending out to sea, what would you put on the message?
:23:16. > :23:22.It is called a sea of waves walk. The voices are served up by a smart
:23:22. > :23:25.phone app. We asked people to walk from the seafront to the marina and
:23:25. > :23:30.asked them to pick about distance and time and the sea and our
:23:30. > :23:34.relationship to it. The sea is in front of you know. When I was here
:23:34. > :23:39.last the sea was bustling with people dock. Letters ground
:23:39. > :23:45.ourselves a moment. Over the next few weeks, thousands will come to
:23:45. > :23:50.Brighton. The chief executive says 2012 will be a great year. We kick
:23:50. > :23:54.off with an incredible first weekend. The children's parade
:23:54. > :24:02.starts and this year is bigger than ever with some 5000 children coming.
:24:02. > :24:06.Vanessa Redgrave put League that parade. The offering from Danny
:24:06. > :24:16.O'Donoghue is at mixture between Brighton and the Italian city of
:24:16. > :24:17.
:24:17. > :24:21.Palermo. We could somehow make a collision of these places. Some
:24:21. > :24:25.artists are more prepared than others, but be in no doubt that
:24:25. > :24:33.when the time comes they will be ready.
:24:34. > :24:43.David Batchelor is the lead artist of a scheme where parties shown in
:24:44. > :24:43.
:24:44. > :24:53.residential houses. The children's parade starts here on Saturday.
:24:53. > :24:58.It has been a lovely day today, but I am afraid so. It will not
:24:58. > :25:03.surprise you that this April has been the wettest on record for the
:25:03. > :25:09.UK. There is a weather warning paid for heavy rain and strong winds
:25:09. > :25:15.through tonight. We expect between 20 and 30 mm of rain. Eventually
:25:15. > :25:25.the rain will clear three tomorrow. Increasingly driver still clouded
:25:25. > :25:29.
:25:29. > :25:33.by the afternoon. Temperatures with highs of around 18 degrees. The
:25:33. > :25:38.increasingly unsettled as we go through tonight. Very wet and windy.
:25:38. > :25:44.As a result, it will be mild. Temperatures staying in double
:25:44. > :25:51.figures. A wet and windy start to the day tomorrow. The band of rain
:25:51. > :25:57.slowly clears northwards. A tricky rush hour. The wind swinging back
:25:57. > :26:02.to a south-westerly direction. Plenty of cloud around and a little
:26:02. > :26:07.bit of sunshine on the south coast. Temperatures still not too bad for
:26:07. > :26:13.the time of year. It stays dry three tomorrow night. Plenty of